this has been a big foreign policy week in washington. and i'm wondering, given what we've learned about al qaeda and its resurgence in north africa and just defense posture globally, david, do you have a sense of what ryan is thinking about defense spending these days? >> no, i don't, particularly with regard to ryan, but i think it's such an important point, gene, because the threat from northern africa alone, listen to secretary clinton's testimony beyond what went into the benghazi attack or what information was missed. the need to fortify our missions and installations and consulates and embassies around the globe. and to the extent that we're going to have an aggressive posture to deal with an al qaeda 3.0 around the globe or failing states, if that comes to pass in afghanistan, there are real concerns that a lot of people have about the united states right now. to say nothing of all of the costs related to our returning soldiers and the sort of care that they're going to need. >> you know, what's so fascinating, steve rattner, talk